With an intention to limit the increase in the number of the immigrants willing to work and reside in the New Zealand, the Government of New Zealand has announced modifications in the residency permits.

The changes announced by the New Zealand Government focused mainly on (1) decreasing the number of residency permits by 5000; (2) Increasing the points required to get a skilled visa granted; (3) Temporarily closing the visa application in the parent category.

Immigration Minister of New Zealand said that the changes introduced in the residency permits are part of the systematic review process of the migration levels in the country. On the contrary, the statement released regarding the changes surprised few firms.

‘Immigrants add a valuable contribution to the New Zealand’s culture and economic sector, and hence the Government review’s all immigration settings regularly to ensure that they are working as desired. Though the government is confident about its immigration settings, the Residency Permit is evaluated every couple of years to confirm that an accurate number and skill mix of people are issued residence permit,’ said the Immigration Minister, Michael Woodhouse.

The planned range for the residence permit approvals to be given has been decreased to 85000 to 95000 from 90000 to 100000 during next 2 years i.e. 2016-2018.Under the Skilled Migrant Category, the points required to obtain the residence permit has been increased from 140 points to 160 points. The number of the places for the capped family categories is being decreased from 5500 to 2000 per annum.

The Immigration Minister said, ‘Increasing the points required to gain residence will moderate the growth in applications in the Skilled Migrant Category and enable us to lower the overall number of migrants gaining residence. Changes to the Family Category, including temporarily closing the Parent Category to new applications, will also reduce the total number of migrants being granted residence.’

Increasing the points will also streamline the access for higher skilled SMC immigrants, which will ensure that we are maintaining a balance between attracting the skilled workers, which will eventually allow the organizations to expand and help them in managing the demand during the strong growth period. The announcement demonstrates the Government is taking a responsible, pragmatic approach to managing immigration.